Ok, I'm going to try and not make this a long, ranting post but here we go.....I own a 2006 Malibu V-ride that I'm the original owner on. I bought the boat new in 2007 as a leftover on a dealers lot. Needless to say I had difficulty since day one. First I had issues with the ballast and my dealer didn't step up to the plate so I got the anti-siphon valves and installed them myself. Next was no remote for my stereo when I had one ordered, next was defect in the trailer rims therefore boatmate had a recall on the rims but my dealer had me pay to swap them out, next was a defective blower that had water in it and my dealers response was that he took it apart and "fixed" it which didn't help the problem so finally got a new blower installed. Lets see next was the throttle body sensor was sticking and my dealers answer was to hit my throttle with my fist to get it to "un-stick". This issue went on for several months until my complaining finally reached someone at Malibu and the dealer replaced it. Now a month or so after this the dealership was pulled from this guy. In steps the new dealer and thus far the only issue that I have had since then is an issue with the swim platform cracking and they replaced it no questions......fast forward to this year....I noticed a few weeks ago a pin sized hole in my clear coat close to my bow eye hook. A few weeks went by and I kept watching this and one day it popped open and now its about the size of a quarter down to the fiberglass. I contact the dealership and they tell me to bring it over( 2 hr tow for me) so I take it to them this past week. From initial conversation with them they lead me to believe that it is a possible air pocket during the building process and if so it will be covered under the lifetime hull warranty. So now after further review, they decide that I have hit something! This frustrates the S**t out of me because I know darn well that I did not hit anything. So my issue is this, how do I prove to them that this is not a result of an accident or something "physical" that I have done to the boat? Do I take this up with Malibu, or do I bite the bullet and pay my $250 deductible and tell my insurance guy that "I hit something"? I have done a great job of controlling my temper thus far but I'm afraid that when I pick the boat up on Monday that I might exchange a few choice words.....All input is appreciated!

call malibu the higher you go the quicker the results. the more important the person you talk to is the easier it will be to get this resolved. you don't have to be rude just persistant. the important person you talk to will make one phone call and all will be fine.

I am personally going through an issue right now with my fuel pump and it was not until I complained directly to Malibu that was anything starting to happen. My vote is contact Malibu. That is what there customer service dept is there for.

WOW! That really sucks. I'm voting on it being your dealer as well. Although we didn't have much go wrong with our 2005 VRide, the few things we had were quickly taken care of by our dealer (Tilly's in Oxnard, CA). Our issues were the following:

1. Heater went out
2. Side decal had bubbles

With that said, when/ if we were to buy another boat it will be a Malibu from Tilly's.

The blower issue sounds like it might be caused by circumstances (excessive water in the bilge). Blowers go out. Their cheap though & easy to replace. I've had to replace the blower in my 05 Vride after the prop packing failed & the bilge filled up with water. The boat was only 4 yrs old at the time.

The dealer should still help you though. The rest of the issues sounds very legit to me though.

The fiberglass issue is one that may be pretty easily fixed though. Granted, you spent a lot of money on this boat & are entitled to it being repaired under warranty. But your also pretty fed up & would probably like it to be fixed & done with. In the event that your not able to get it fixed under warranty, I'd just get it fixed & be done & over it. When I bought my Vride used, it had a couple of scars on it from when the boat was tied up to a houseboat during a storm. I had 3 or 4 baseball sized scars repaired (in the white gelcoat) for around $300.

I gotta admit, if I had to do these repairs myself, or pay for them myself, on a boat that I bought under warranty, I'd be telling everyone under the sun what a crappy dealer these guys were. And I'd tell them the exact same thing.

That said, there are two sides to every story...... at least.

Hey Mike, I've heard good things about Tilly's. But I also heard they were for sale too.

Thanks for the input! Yeah I will agree about the blower issue was probably caused by circumstances but the old dealer stated that "I took it apart and put it back together" which obviously didn't fix the issue. I have personally dealt with malibu directly when I had an issue with my middle cushion falling through into the engine compartment and lets just say it was a long and drawn out issue and it took them a few months to send out a new cushion. The other issue that I have going against me is the rep for the area kind of turned his nose up with me because of the hell I raised after I bought the boat. I will be picking up the boat on Monday and I will get some pics then. All your input is appreciated!

lawyer letter head to the dealer. if they are screwing you on warranty stuff let them know you aren't a fool. alot of people just bend over and take it; which is why they feel they can get away with it. make sure to tell malibu how bad they treat you and how shotty their work is. better business bureau is also a great place. in the end it will get resolved one way or another so don't fret. i know your pain though.

Hey there. The vast majority of the issues in your post are dealer issues, that obviously from what you wrote, Malibu knew and discontinued the dealer.

The final issue is always going to be a tough sell. Its a hull issue in the front of the boat by the bow eye. It is way to easy for any company to say you ran over something (how do you disprove that?) and with their "experts," will you be able to convince them otherwise. I'm just being realistic here. You may spend a lot more in legal fees and your own time when just paying the money to fix it might be the best way of doing it. There is that old saying of BOAT "Bust out another thousand."

Brett, totally agree with you but I have basically invested my time since 07 when I bought the boat fighting with these guys with all the issues plus winter is coming and I won't be boating so what better way to spend the time than fighting with them! Ian, I guess I should look at selling and going with a Tige like I almost did a few years back....

chris nice looking boat. i understand where your at. i would recommend trying to resolve your issues with malibu and state to them you love the boat but are disappionted with the dealer. if you threaten to buy a different boat they see it as a customer they have already lost. if you state you love the boat,they look at it like you are happy and will someday purchase another boat and they will want to keep you happy.if you do decide to buy a tige,go to tigeowners.com and post a question about how people on there like the dealer you plan to buy from .that way you know if you have issues with it you will be able to count on the dealer. good luck in whatever you decide.

So wait...the first dealer was a pile of crap, and Malibu pulled the line. The second dealer resolved your swim deck issue, and you were happy. The second dealer now has forwarded the info to malibu, who it seems has declined to cover the gelcoat issue, and the dealer has provided you with that info. Now you are going to threaten this dealer with a lawyer? What has the dealer done? It's crap like this that drives the few decent dealers insane...the new dealer has no responsibility to you to fix the boat, except whatever language is contained in his dealership agreement with Malibu. He made no profit selling you the boat. By your admission, he took care of the swimdeck issue to your satisfaction. If you want to fire off a lawyer's letter, send it to Malibu.

How about this: Ask the dealer to take another run at the Malibu warranty department on the gelcoat issue. If Malibu still wont step up, ask the dealer if his glass guy can hook you up. Off season is coming up, maybe he needs some work. Maybe ask the dealer if he will help on the glass issue if you have him do a full service on the boat? The dealer needs to make some revenue, he can't just give away glass labor if Malibu is refusing to pay the bill.

No, the second dealer didn't even turn it into Malibu they simply stated that the area is a result of me hitting something. They feel that this issue is not a defect. Ironically I have never hit anything with my boat, the level of the damage is below any dock height and not in an area where I could have hit it on the trailer. Meathead, I was simply stating that if needed I can get a letter head from a lawyer to malibu........yes I realize the off season is coming up and I will probably end up getting it fixed then. "Maybe ask the dealer if he will help on the glass issue if you have him do a full service on the boat? The dealer needs to make some revenue, he can't just give away glass labor if Malibu is refusing to pay the bill." dealer make revenue off me? Perhaps they did that when I took my boat in for a 300 hour service and I asked them to not change any fluids or filters because they were all fresh and the did it anyway.....perhaps the $1000 they charged me for this service was ample "revenue" for them! Guess since I'm made of money I will go shake the money tree in my back yard and give it to them

by the way Robert, the wife and I were looking at possibly getting out of the V-ride and switching to the VLX/LSV models. I do love my malibu, its a very sound boat and has been great other than the annoying issues...

Chris, your original post didn't clarify all that info. The primary issue is that the dealer needs to seek approval from Malibu to cover the glass work under warranty.

If he charged you 1000 dollars for a 300 hour service, he's lost any respect i had for him as a dealer and all bets are now off. He should have his glass guy take care of the chip as a courtesy to you IMHO, because he's charging top dollar for service work and he should want to retain you as a customer.

At first I thought the dealer was a good guy getting thrown under the bus, but if he has not even approached Malibu about getting your issue resolved, he is doing little to earn your confidence as a customer. It costs him nothing to try top get Malibu to pay for the glass work if it is in fact a defect in the boat.

No big deal, I guess I should have made myself a little clearer. Yeah, I thought $1000 was a little over the top for a 300 hr service....I'm heading to pick the boat up on Monday so hopefully that will get the ball rolling with everything. Thanks again for all the input

UPDATE: Drive two hours one way to pick the boat up today. The fiberglass repair guy was in the shop at the same time and both he and the dealer once again state that I'm at fault and that I hit something because of the way the fiberglass is pulled away from the boat. So instead of attacking these guys verbally like I want to do I just bite the bullet. The repair guy leaves then I start talking to the dealer a little more and he still will not budge off the fact that this damage is my fault. So I thank him for the time and I walk out towards my boat. As I approach it I notice a ton more scuff's and scratches both on the side of the damage and on the other side. So I walk back in calmly approach the dealer and simply ask him how in the world they took my boat off the trailer and he replies that they simply jack it off the trailer.....I take him out there and let him take a peak of the "new"area of concern on my boat. He simply rubs on the area vigorously and states that this area will just rub off the next time I wash it. So he "takes another look" at the original spot and is perplexed about the area's placement therefore he states "Well I will send the pictures and information to the local rep and Malibu and we will see what they say. So this leads me to believe that he originally never looked at the damage and now after looking at it he feels it could possibly be a result of a defect. Also I'm sure the new area of damage caused by his dealership is an area of concern.

UPDATE: Drive two hours one way to pick the boat up today. The fiberglass repair guy was in the shop at the same time and both he and the dealer once again state that I'm at fault and that I hit something because of the way the fiberglass is pulled away from the boat. So instead of attacking these guys verbally like I want to do I just bite the bullet. The repair guy leaves then I start talking to the dealer a little more and he still will not budge off the fact that this damage is my fault. So I thank him for the time and I walk out towards my boat. As I approach it I notice a ton more scuff's and scratches both on the side of the damage and on the other side. So I walk back in calmly approach the dealer and simply ask him how in the world they took my boat off the trailer and he replies that they simply jack it off the trailer.....I take him out there and let him take a peak of the "new"area of concern on my boat. He simply rubs on the area vigorously and states that this area will just rub off the next time I wash it. So he "takes another look" at the original spot and is perplexed about the area's placement therefore he states "Well I will send the pictures and information to the local rep and Malibu and we will see what they say. So this leads me to believe that he originally never looked at the damage and now after looking at it he feels it could possibly be a result of a defect. Also I'm sure the new area of damage caused by his dealership is an area of concern.

So now I play the waiting game....

Chris

Send Bob Lacovara the pictures and details.... No one is better than Bob, specially in court!

They are jacking the boat off the trailer because it is near the bow eye hook and I guess it was too much work for them to run it down to their ramp and back it into the river and take it off the trailer that way. I will try to post the only fairly good pic that I have right now but I always have issues posting them on WW.....

I will be sending Bob an email as well. Thanks guys for all your help. Oh I don't know if I mentioned it or not but their explanation as to why this was a result of an accident is due to the fact that the fiberglass is pulled away so whatever I hit "was stuck on the boat"

If they put scratches and such on my boat then told me they would come out with the next wash... oh boy... No way in hell that would fly. I'm lucky our dealer is just about as anal about things like that as I am.

Shawn, I'm trying to practice patience because if I blow up at them now then I stand no chance of getting the boat fixed at all. Meathead, to answer your question the climate that I live in is subject to freezing conditions but it stays in a heated warehouse all winter long. I read Bob's article on that and I also considered that but if that happened I would have thought that I would have noticed this upon getting it out of storage this past spring! Meathead, what appears to be your best guess on this issue?

Not right now ryan its on the trailer and it doesn't look like I will be going out anytime soon. I would be completely honest with everybody.....I DID NOT HIT ANYTHING....I wouldn't have even posted on here had I hit something I would have just taken it upon myself to get it fixed. Sorry to rant but as the big man himself as my witness I did not hit a darn thing.......if I get the opportunity to get a picture from farther away I will

The only thing I don't like are the cracks coming from the area...if its a void, then those cracks would indicate that there is even more area around it that isn't bonding well.

I am not calling you a liar, but it really could be impact...any chance maybe something kicked up from the road and struck the boat?

Or...if there is a backing plate behind that bow eye, a downward pull on the eye could have pulled the backing plate towards,the outside of the hull. Possibly even from over tightening the eye bolts. I'd be curious to see it the corner of a backing plate lines up with that chip.

It sounds like you have a tough dealer situation. No matter what the issue the dealer can submit a photo to their rep and let Malibu make the decission. I work at a shop and deal with submitting these photos. I also do some of the fiberglas work and have been trained in it. The photo you post makes it hard to tell, but that does not look like a air void from that photo. It may be a defect, but the cracking around it and how the gel chipped makes it look like impact (in that photo), especially since that location would hit the bow stand/roller on most trailers. So two possibilities are the bow hook was laying on the roller and it hit or the boat was lifted and the metal hook dug in and cracked it. Has the boat ever been on a trailer other then yours or has anyone else driven it? Another way to check is to see if there is any flex in the gel around that area. If you cannot get it resolved with your dealer call Malibu and get someone in customer service. I am sure they will gladly take a look at your photos and if it looks like a factory issue will have it resolved.

Nobody else has driven the boat or put the boat on the trailer other than myself or my wife. The glass guy at the dealership stated that he will have to remove the bow eye out and replace it after the repair. Yes the cracks are heading straight toward the bow eye. My suspicion is the fact that securing it down to the trailer with the front crank is what "finished" the initial hole off into this bigger hole. The bow stop has no physical damage on it at all. This is the only thing that I foresee as a possible "collision" but rest assured this has never happened. I guess I will see what Malibu has to say and I imagine that it will not be in my favor. By the way the estimate is $700 for the repair which means this year I will have paid $1700 for a 300 hour service and now damage from my boat from a so called collision

I'm pretty sure you would have known if you hit that bow eye area hard enough to cause damage. I figure it was a soft spot on the gel or some bow eye area flex that caused it. Problem is the dealer said no and that is the bottom line.

I would move-on, really since these things can happen and it is an easy fix. I'm no expert but $700 sounds high for that repair.

The $1000 300 Hour service sounds way high, try to learn to do the service yourself. It's not that hard if you have the time. If you do not have the time to learn (maybe you work a lot or have kids), then go to another mechanic.

Bill K - Not sure about Tilly's being for sale, but the last time I was there (probably April), they picked up some repo'ed fishing boats and were trying to sell those. They kept on telling me things were ok, but it's obviously not the truth. They didn't even have the 2010 models in yet. I haven't been back, since we sold our VRide.

Just wanted to thank everybody for their input! Its amazing that everybody is willing to share their advice on this matter. Contacted Bob, and he was very helpful and offered a lot of insight on how to approach this! He also stated that $700 seemed a little high and that it should only take 2-3 hours at most for this repair. Now an update on the dealer. When I had talked to him on Monday he was going to send a report to Malibu with pictures. I also asked him to send me the pictures as well because I would like to see his pictures with the boat off the trailer. Obviously he told me he would send them later that day.....well now that its Wednesday with no email, I contacted the service rep to see if he could email them my way and he informs me that he never took any pictures and the dealer was apparently standing right there, heard him talking, and stated that they were on his camera at home and that he would email me to them later. Now, I must say something is starting to smell fishy with this whole ordeal. Guess Malibu will be getting a call from me next week as well as hopefully finding a new dealer that is relatively close. Thanks again for everybody's help

Well here is my final update until I talk to malibu and send them pictures myself. So I basically caught my dealer in a bold face lie today. He calls and leaves me a voice mail today and states that his son or his family must have deleted the pictures off his camera and he doesn't have a back up of them. Basically he NEVER took any pictures and now he is going to lie to me to cover his a**. Informed Malibu of this, now I'm waiting for my malibu rep for this area to call me.....we shall see if this happens. Ironically he calls me a liar by stating that "I had to have hit something to cause this damage". Whats the old saying...screw me once shame on you, screw me twice shame on me! I will keep everybody informed. By the way if anybody is thinking about buying a Malibu in Louisville KY please contact me first....
chris

I have never seen a gelcoat void go all the way through to the fiberglass. Gelcoat is sprayed which is why you can see an air bubble. The glass is rolled so there should not be any void between the gel and the glass. I would be curious to see more pics when you get the chance. Are those spider cracks from you picking at the gelcoat?

I have read about gel issues with BUs. This thread doesn't help BUs on line reputation. This kind of disputes should be resolved by the dealer and builder. The fact that its being discussed here only shows a failure in Malibu's custermer service. One of the reasons I chose a Nautique was I dont see these kind of disputes on line. Good luck I hope it all works out for you.

Totally agree. Malibu and their dealers should take a look at the advertizing and marketing costs to bring in a new customer vs. the 700.00 it would cost to satisfy Chris and probably have a customer for life. Also take into consideration how much damage a disgruntled customer can do to Malibu's reputation for free.

Took the boat off the trailer to get a few pictures since my dealer lost the pictures that he took and I came across yet another crack in the gel-coat. This one is on the opposite side of my old damage and it appears to come from the top bolt on the eye hook. Wonder where this one came from. I have included some pictures...the first one is of the new area that is straight from the dealership; second one is the damage from a different angle and the last one is of the other crack coming from the top bolt of the eye hook. By the way, the black sticky crap on there was from tape that was on there to protect the area until it went to the dealer

It would drive me nuts if they were jacking the boat up off the trailer multiple times & I had this kind of damage. I'd want to know EXACTLY where & how they are lifting/supporting the weight of the boat.
Also, get it cleaned up for pics, especially anything being sent to Malibu.

In the latest pics the open spot port of the bow eye does not appear to be a gel void. The chopped strand mat looks torn, indicating that a bond did exist at one point. Gel voids will show a shiny resin coating over the the CSM where no mechanical bond was ever established. It looks like a chip to me. We have gravel trucks all over the place down here that dump big rocks at 70 MPH. Bastages! Funny, the first pics you posted makes it look like a void. I would have to see it in person or be given better pics to make a definitive judgment. Can the edges of the gel at the open spot be lifted with a knife edge proving a "never bond"? The second crack is radiating out from the bolt hole and is typical of overloading the winch strap but could also be from an a miss drilled install. After 3 years of trailering I would call that one normal.

I work on these boats every day and IMPO thats not a defect. If you say you know you didnt hit anythng than I will take your word. But something hit that boat to cause the damage. I am sorry you are having so much trouble with your dealer. Its a very simple process dealer takes pics sends them to Malibu along with an est. to repair and Malibu will say yes or no. Should have taken your dealer 20 minutes tops to get pics send to malibu and maybe a week before he hear back. I can tell you from previous exp. they would alomost certianly deny this claim and I am sorry I would have to agree with them on this one. Good luck getting it fixed..I really do hope it works out for you.

I have been in touch with Malibu and I will be sending them the pictures. I guess I was just more offended that the dealer didn't even give me a change or attempt to assist me with this issue. The only things that I got was less money in my bank account for towing it that far, more "free" scratches on my boat, accused and lied to, and increased blood pressure. I will be sending the pics to Malibu tonight and await their answer which I'm sure will be a no. I'm also waiting on the local rep to contact me. In the mean time, I'm sure that I have found another dealer about 3 hours away that is willing to help me out in the future. Sam, here is a picture of the roller.

It looks like you have that thing cracked down ridiculously tight. Maybe it is just the pictures? Is the chip in the gel in line with the green U-Shaped piece on the trailer that holds the bow roller. Is there any chance you could of hit the roller hard enough or hit a bump that the boat would bounce/hit and the green steel could hit the gel?

Brett,
Its just the pictures, I don't crank it down that hard. It would have to be one hell of a force for me to bend the roller or separate it and hit the actual trailer. Pics sent to Malibu, waiting on a response. Meanwhile found another dealer that I like thus far. Will meet up with them and go from there. Just going to bite the bullet and get if fixed. I'm not expecting Malibu to do anything because well honestly that haven't really helped out this far! Guess I can call and give the old dealer a piece of my mind, would love to have him detail my boat if he takes that much pride in taking my boat off the trailer!